Question
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QUESTION 5:
Given:
5.1 Writo down the values of the next two terms
5.2 Determine .
5.3 Caiculate the largest term in the pattorn above.
5.4 Provide a reason why the sequence will not have a minimum value.
5.5 Which term will be the first to be less than - 400?

Ask by Boyd Paul. in South Africa
Jan 19,2025

Upstudy AI Solution

Tutor-Verified Answer

Answer

5.1 Next Two Terms: 4 and 12
5.2 :
5.3 Largest Term: 19 (8th term)
5.4 No Minimum Value: The sequence decreases without bound as increases.
5.5 First Term Less Than -400: 25th term

Solution

Let’s analyze the given sequence and address each part of the question systematically.
Given Sequence:

5.1 Write Down the Values of the Next Two Terms

Analysis:
  • First differences:
  • The differences between terms decrease by 3 each time:
  • Next differences:
  • Next terms:
Answer:
The next two terms are 4 and 12.

5.2 Determine (The Term)

Approach:
The sequence is generated by adding differences that decrease by 3 each time. This suggests a quadratic relationship.
Let .
Using Initial Terms:
Solving the Equations:
  1. Subtract the first equation from the second:
  2. Subtract the second equation from the third:
  3. Subtract these two results:
  4. Substitute into :
  5. Substitute and into :
Final Formula:
Answer:
The term is .

5.3 Calculate the Largest Term in the Pattern

Approach:
Since is a downward-opening parabola, its maximum occurs at the vertex.
Vertex Formula:
Thus, the maximum occurs around .
Calculating :
Answer:
The largest term in the sequence is 19 (which is the 8th term).

5.4 Why the Sequence Will Not Have a Minimum Value

Explanation:
The general term is a quadratic function that opens downward (since the coefficient of is negative). As increases, the term dominates, causing to decrease without bound.
Answer:
Because as increases, the terms become indefinitely negative, the sequence decreases without limit and thus has no minimum value.

5.5 Which Term Will Be the First to Be Less Than -400?

Objective:
Find the smallest integer such that .
Set Up the Inequality:
Multiply by -1 (and reverse the inequality sign):
Multiply by 2 to eliminate decimals:
Solving the Quadratic Equation:
Only the positive root is relevant:
Thus, the first integer where is 25.
Verification:
Answer:
The 25th term is the first term less than –400.

Answered by UpStudy AI and reviewed by a Professional Tutor

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Explain
Simplify this solution

Beyond the Answer

The sequence given appears to follow a pattern where each term is formed by adding increasing increments of +20:
  • Starting from -58, if we keep adding 20, the next terms would be -58 + 20 = -38, -38 + 17 = -21, and -21 + 14 = -7. So the next two terms would be -7 + 11 = 4 and 4 + 8 = 12. Hence, the next two terms are 4 and 12.
For the term , we can express the general term of the sequence as , which captures the pattern of the sequence. To calculate the largest term, we observe that as we continue the increments, the values will always increase in value, and thus the largest term will keep growing indefinitely.
The sequence will not have a minimum value because it starts at negative infinity and each successive term is larger than the last, meaning it can always decrease further down to a larger negative number, with no lowest limit in sight.
To find the first term less than -400, we essentially set up the inequality and solve for n. This would result in checking which n gives a value just below -400, which for this pattern would be around .

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